Alveric looking cool as usual…

— This is starting to feel like a cheesy Japanese game show. These characters want to bring war back, but they’re still going to waste time farting around with convoluted obstacle courses? Alright then.

— Couldn’t you just cross the first bridge, then find some way to destroy it? Or will Hartgen actually get mad if you even dare to use any sort of ingenuity?

— Oh nevermind, I just saw some guy cut the ropes to a bridge. Well then, I don’t know why more people aren’t doing this.

— Vivi keeps saying how she’ll make this person pay or that person pay… let’s just wait until you actually get your hands on anyone. If it seems like I don’t have much respect for her character, it’s because I really, really don’t. What has she actually accomplished in over one-and-a-half season? Nothing. She’s either angry or in love, and these days, she’s just angry.

— Chaika asks Toru if he wants war to return as well. I wish Chaika was a sharp cookie who could actually keep Toru on point, but she’s not, so he instead turns the question around on her. Even after she answers it, she doesn’t remember to ask him for his answer.

— Yeah, yeah, he’ll keep her answer in his mind, so maybe he’ll just do whatever she wants. But that’s a cop-out. I want to know what he wants. I want to see his thought process. Actually, check that. A deep, insightful conversation is one thing. If we keep encouraging anime, however, we might get Fate/stay night-esque conversations instead.

— According to a retainer, Hartgen wants to become the next Gaz. He even suggests that Gaz may have possessed Hartgen. Hm, we’ll see. Maybe he’s just become a war-starved maniac. Yeah, he supposedly studied up on how Gaz was trying to seize the continent, but if you actually had such grand ambitions, wouldn’t you do the same? I sometimes wonder if people in this show are giving Gaz too much credit. They talk him up, but their testimonials are all we have to go by. We never actually get to see the guy. How much can we trust these people’s word?

— Then again, maybe there’s something to this idea that Hartgen’s been possessed. After all, those girls keep referring to him as their father.

— Or maybe he’s just been brainwashed to think they’re his daughters.

— A mysterious figure always appears out of nowhere and bends the king under his or her influence. Most of the time, it’s a powerful wizard. Here, it’s the seductive Black Chaika. She just had to say the words, and Hartgen believed her. No background check or anything! Anyway, I’m being facetious here. Don’t lose your shit over it.

— Akari and Frederica stumble across a room full of coffins and remains. What they don’t know, however, is that multiple Chaikas have been following them. Good lord, how many of these Chaikas are out there? Is there going to be a Chaika for every color too? Chartreuse Chaika? Eggshell Chaika? Bath Salts Chaika?!

— I mean, it was sort of interesting when you could at least associate these girls’ colors with their personalities. White Chaika is fittingly innocent, so she has no hate in her heart. She just wants to give her father a proper burial. Red is the color of passion, so Red Chaika is not only angry all the time, she also exudes more sex appeal. Now, however, the colors are just plan random.

— On the other hand, these Chaikas are just puppets. But if you’re going to use puppets, why even make them look like Chaikas at all? Why even bother? The concept of there being multiple Chaikas is what sets this story apart, so why are we running it into the ground?

— And goddamn, the anime sure is proud of shoving Teal Chaika’s crotch in our face not once but twice. C’mon, guys. It’s just a crotch!

— White Chaika and Vivi finally reach their destination, and the latter discovers that Alveric is still alive. Naturally, he doesn’t recognize her. He immediately starts attacking her, actually. Honestly, I wouldn’t really care if she died. I don’t wish for anyone’s death, of course, but Vivi’s been a pretty annoying character.

— Let’s just grant that lots of people in this world want war to come back. Even then, Alveric’s a bad example. He had a job before he became one of Hartgen’s tools. If we’re talking about a hungry, desperate ex-soldier, then I can at least understand the whole “Because that is my job!” excuse. With Alveric, it just not thematically compelling.

— In the end, Vivi had to take a cut at Alveric to stop him from killing Nikolai. This somehow jogged his memory? We should go stab our grandparents, then.

— But wow, that was really all it took? Alveric is truly back? C’mon. First, he ends up in Hartgen’s employ without much fanfare. And now, he’s woken up without much fanfare. Talk about a letdown. Those Chaikas are right. This is boring. On the bright side, maybe this will mellow Vivi out and she can stop being such a brat to everyone.

— It’s time for Akari to face off against Brother Shin again, but it’s okay! This time, we have Frederica on our side–…

Oh…

— And now it’s time for White Chaika to face off against Red Chaika. Guys, we can all be friends. But unfortunately, Red Chaika is stupid. She honestly thinks she can just defeat White Chaika and take the latter’s remains. White Chaika, to her credit, wants to team up with Red Chaika, but the mean girl will have none of it. But common sense should tell her that Black Chaika won’t simply let her have the remains. I just want smart characters. Is that so much to ask?

— At first, everyone splits up, but at some point, Red Chaika joins up with David in the middle of the ring. Granted, David was losing his duel against Toru, but still, I’d just go all in and try to get White Chaika before David goes down. I bet Toru doesn’t even have taunt. Guys, guys… have you never PVP’d? You gotta assassinate the backline!

— Eventually, Red Chaika just accepts defeat. Instead of teaming up with White Chaika, however, she exits the stage. Welp.

— And now it’s Toru vs Shin, round two…

— Oh man, look how easy it is to disable Chaika and drag her away. In fact, she would’ve had a better angle if she had been patient and didn’t move. These are just your run-of-the-mill soldiers, too. Tsk, tsk, Red Chaika…

— And as expected, Toru loses to Shin again. Oh well. It’s the eighth episode, so he’s not allowed to win yet.